Friction-coil clutch.



F. R. ALLEN.

PRIOTION COIL CLUTCH.

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989,102. Patented Apr.11, 1911.

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` i w/r/vfssfs INVENTUH www UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

i FEED B. ALLEN, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND, ASSIGNOR, BY MEBNE ASSIGNMENTS, T ,NATIONAL ANTISLIP CLUTCH COMPANY, .OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A COR- PORATION OF MAINE.

I `FBICTION-COIL CLUTCH.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Apr. 11, 1911.4

'Applicationledpril 27,1910. Serial No. 557,946.

,whom 'it may concern? y Be it known that I, FRED R. ALLEN, a cit-izen of tle UnitedStates, residing at Providence, in the county of Providence and State to engage the interior surface o .ashell or A lfurther object is to insert or thread the coil into' a correspondingly grooved member whereby the coi-l is reinforced and effectu- 1 ally protected against injury.

A further object is to provide simple and effective means whereby the' coil may be engaged at both ends at once for the purpose of quickly withdrawing it fromfengagementy withthe drivingor driven hub.

With these and other objects in v1ew,' the invention consists of certain novel features of construction, as will lloe more fully described and particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings. Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating my im.- proved clutch as applied to a pulley.v Fig. 2 illustrates the end of a shaft which is 'threadedor grooved for `the reception of the coil. Fig. 3- is a detail `of the coil adapted to'be inserted into the grooved member illustrated in Fig; 2. Fig. 4- i`s an end view of the coil "showingone end turned inward to `enga e a corresponding slot in the grooved mem er for securing this end against relative rotation thereon.` Fig. 5,-- is Vxa side elevation partly in section of thesliding collar, the movement of which controls the clutch coil. Fig. 6 is'an endelevation of 'said collar. I 4 l Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a shaft whic may bel either driven through the ulley.2, or-serve' as a driver through whic 'said pulley may be driven. The end of this shaft is shown in Figs. 1 and Qas being helically grooved as at 3 for the purpose of receiving a correspondin gly formed coil or member` 4, and for supporting and vprotecting' the samel while in action, vone endv of the collbeing turned inwardas at 5, see Fig. 4, fon thepnrpose of engaging a corre-0 ture is of spondin slot 6, see Fig. 2, in said shaft by which t is end is secured. The opposite end ofthe coil is providedA with an extendlng end 7, said end being. set on an angle and arranged to fit in a corres ondin slot 8 in the collar 9. This collar 1s keye at 10 to slide endwise on said shaft 1 through the action of the knee lever 11, or by any other convenient means. I have described the' coil as engaging'a correspondin groove formed 1n the end of the shaft liut this `groove may be formed in a separate and independent shell attached to the shaft. InrFig. 1 I have shown a collar as operatin one end of the coil but'the opposite end of he coil may have a similar extending end and be operated by a similar'collar whereby ytwo 'ends may be wound up in opposite d1rections simultaneously to cause'a uicker action to the clutch.` As will be rea ily understood by those skilled in the art, thehelical groove formed in the supporting memberperforms the function of preventing chan es occurring in the diameter of the coilcue to' any direct pull or movement of either end of the coil in the direction of the axis of the coil.

In the operation of my improved clutch the coil may be formed in any suitable way and of any desired material. The outside diameter of the coil is normally a little greater than that of the grooved or threaded member and its inside diameter is of a size so as not to normally bottom in the rooveof said member. The coil is then lnserted into the groove 3 in said member outer surface is then turned or ground off vproviding a good bearing on which'the shell orghub'may run when free. As soon as the coil is released it automatically expands and grips the interior of the hub firmly locking the same securely to the shaft by the friction of'a greatly extended area due to the engamg surface of the numerous coilsu I y the provision of a slotted sleeve engaging .the end .of the coil I am enabled to perfectly control at all times the action of the clutch and to cause the same to take hold as slowly and easily as desired, which feaeat importance in some classes of work. nother feature of m,l construction is that shouldthe coil brea it woul(J still automatically open and act as a clutch to drive the parts. Another feature of my improved clutch is that by this arrangement-fill() the coil'is housed within the hub of the driving or driven member thereby taking up little or no room.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim 1s: Q

l. A clutch comprising a shaft, a friction coil thereon, an inclosing power transmittin member for said coil, manually controllab e means whereby said coil may be caused to expand to frictionally engage said member, and connections between the shaft and coil whereby the inclosing member, the coil, and the shaft rotate together when the coil is' in expanded condition.-

2. A clutch com rising'a shaft, a friction coil thereon, an incljosingpower transmitting member for said coil, an endwise slidable member adapted to engage the end of said =coil whereby said coil may be caused .to expand and contract to engage and release said member, and connections between the shaft and coil whereby the :inclosing member, the coil, andthe shaft rotate'together when the coil is in expanded condition.

3. A clutch comprising a shaft, va friction expandible coil on the Lshaft and having a projecting end, aninclosing power transmitting member for said coil, an endwise slidable collar provided with a slot set at an' angle to itsaxis for receiving the endv of said coil whereby the movement of said collar causes the coilto expand andl contract to engage and release said member, and connec- 3g tions between the shaft and coil whereby the inclosing member, the coil, and the shaft rotate ,togetherwhen the coil .is in expanded condition.

4.- A clutch comprising a member provided with a helical groove, a friction coil in said groove and connected to rotate with said member, a power transmitting member inclosing said coil, and means whereby .said coil may be caused .to expand to frictionally engage said transmitting member., l

.member inclosing said coil, and an endwise slidable member adapted to engage the end of said coil whereby said coil maybe caused to expand and contract to engage and release. said transmitting member.

7. A clutch comprising a supportin mem ber provided with a helical groove, a riot-ion expandible coil connectedat one end-to said member and having Aa projecting end, a power transmitting ,member inclosing said coil, and an endwise slidable collar provided with aslot set atan angle to its axis for receiving the endv of said coilwhereby the movement of saidcollar is adapted to cause the vcoil to ex and and contract to engage and release said transmitting member. f

In testimon whereof I aiix my signature in presence o two witnesses. v

l. FRED R. ALLEN. Witnesses: HOWARD E. BARLow, E., -I. OGnEN. 

